Leaving for College in a few weeks and money problems?

Question

I leaving for my second year of college at Ualbany in a little under two weeks...but due to some family situations I was left with practically no money. I'll be getting a refund during the first few weeks of school from the university, but I'm afraid that I might need books and other necessities for class before then...does anyone have any suggestions as to what I should do? Or how long it takes for a student to get a refund check from the school?

Answer 1

Talk to your professors about it. There is a chance they might have an extra desk copy of the book they could loan you in the interim (you will still have to buy your own once the money comes in, or it wouldn't be fair to others, but it might help). If that doesn't work, then see if there are copies of the books available on reserve at the library - they can often do that for you, even if they can't give you the book. As a last resort, see if you can share books with a friend or make copies of a few chapters to get you started. I have been teaching for years and this kind of problem comes up all the time. I'm not sure what the other necessities might be, since I don't know what you are studying - the only thing I can think of which might be urgent would be some type of special calculator, in which case see if you can find someone who took the class earlier who could help you.

Answer 2

Take comfort in knowing that most college students are dirt poor, so at worst you're in the same boat. If you can spare $15 for supplies like notebooks and pens, you'll probably be OK until you get your refund.

I realized after the first two years of college that half the time I didn't even need the book. I then started waiting a few weeks into a course until I bought the books because I didn't need them yet or wasn't sure if I would at all. Also, the library should have at least one copy of every book your professor would use, and they may even be able to help you out with one of the free copies they got as kickbacks from the corrupt textbook industry.

Bottom line: Eat Ramen, don't lose pens, use both sides of the paper, drink cheap beer and don't run the air conditioning. That'll get you through college without too much debt.

Answer 3

Sorry to hear about ur financial situation. At my school, refund checks are usually given out about a month after school begins if not longer. This year I was also struggling financially and did not have enough for books but I talked to my school and had a charge account set up. They considered how many credit hours i was taking this fall and stuff like that. They allowed me so much money that I could charge to my student account at the university bookstore. I bought all of my books and a few other necessities for class there and as the money comes available I will pay that money back to the school. Talk to your school financial aid office and see if there is a similar plan that you can set up. Hope you get things worked out.